Here’s what AI makes of this week’s net…
Monday Night Net on GB3DA – hosted by M0PSX
Pete M0PSX was in the chair for this week’s Monday Night Net via GB3DA. Stations taking part during the evening included G7HCD/M (Simon), M7SDA (Aubrey), M5IJH (Ian), M0NMT (Neil), M0LMR (Dorothy) and M7HBZ (Rob), with a good mix of radio chat, tech talk and general natter.
Old friends and local moves
The net opened with Pete surprised to hear Simon G7HCD/M, whose voice he knew from Simon’s Canadian call VA3SII. Simon is now back in Essex and living in Tiptree, usually out on the motorbike but in the car this time on the way back from Slimming World – “looking after the gravitational field”. That kicked off a brief chat about weight-loss, including Pete mulling over the idea of the “magic jab”.
Lurgy, walking and holidays
Aubrey M7SDA reported still struggling with the tail-end of a persistent cold and chestiness, but determinedly out walking every day for fresh air rather than living on tablets. He’s hoping to be fully recovered before an upcoming trip away. Pete noted there seems to be a lot of it about at work, with talk of a possible spike in Covid-like symptoms.
Radio toys: Baofeng Minis and big transverters
Ian M5IJH has been busy on eBay, picking up a couple of bargain transverters (2m and 70 MHz) for contest work and planning tweaks to his mast and antennas – including a cross-Yagi arrangement to squeeze more horizontal and vertical capability into limited mast space.
On the handheld front, there was a lot of enthusiasm for the Baofeng UV-5R Mini. Aubrey has one and finds the battery life and Bluetooth programming excellent, and Pete’s equally impressed with his, including leaving it on receive for 24 hours and still seeing 99% battery. Dorothy’s gone for an “Essex Ham green” one, with Richard ordering a clear version for the car and experimenting with dual-PTT mics and airband quirks. Rob M7HBZ was on AliExpress trying to work out which model everyone was raving about, while Neil noted with amusement that the advert cheerfully markets it as a USB-C walkie-talkie “for children and kids”.
Rob himself was back on after a break, now with his antenna in a “good enough” position in Herne Bay – a bit more noise than before, but DA easily workable.
Bikes, tests and bureaucracy
Neil M0NMT updated everyone on his motorbike adventures. A torrentially wet training day was followed by his Module 2 test being cut short when the examiner’s bike picked up a puncture. Because Neil had already made a lane-change error that would have failed him anyway, he doesn’t qualify for a free retest and will probably wait until the spring before booking again. Several on the net felt the whole setup was a bit harsh, but at least the training has been invaluable.
Phones, operating systems and privacy
A big chunk of the evening turned into an Apple vs Android vs Windows round-table:
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Aubrey talked about videos showing how certain phones still monitor activity even in flight mode, and was unimpressed by Apple’s privacy record.
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There was discussion of Windows 10 Extended Security Updates, the odd “enrol” process, and Microsoft relenting to offer another year of free updates. Aubrey’s happy on his Samsung S24 Ultra with plenty of storage and regular Android updates; Pete runs a mix of Windows 10/11 machines and finds the ESU enrolment process rather opaque.
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Neil and Pete dug into why iOS updates need so much space and how iPhones temporarily offload apps during an upgrade. Pete explained offloading and reinstalling apps while keeping data, and the joys of storage on older 32 GB devices.
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Dorothy happily updated her iPhone to iOS 26.x, decided she likes the new “glass” UI effect after seeing Pete’s screenshot, and isn’t particularly worried about surveillance – pointing out we’re surrounded by CCTV anyway.
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Rob isn’t keen on Apple’s enforced updates and planned obsolescence but admits he’s now so used to iOS that Android doesn’t quite appeal either.
There was also a mention of Pete’s new multi-network dual-SIM data solution (spotted on Dragon’s Den), letting him hop between the four UK networks for the best 4G/5G signal when needed.
Security software and speeding up PCs
Towards the end there was a mini-clinic on security and system housekeeping:
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Rob shared a tale of Norton trying to auto-renew at around £140, only for the “offer” to tumble to £29.99 once he cancelled.
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Aubrey was forthright in his view that Norton (and similar paid AV) is intrusive, naggy and best removed with the official uninstall tool, preferring Windows Defender plus common sense and a free copy of Malwarebytes.
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CCleaner got a thumbs-up, especially the registry clean option, which Aubrey says can transform a slow PC.
Neil also recommended an excellent YouTube piece about re-programming the memory on the Voyager spacecraft to work around corrupted storage – impressive engineering and a nice science-and-space diversion.
Clubs, fireworks and housekeeping
Dorothy mentioned CARS’ “Skills Night” / kit-building evening and another club night later in the week, plus more Silent Key sale items. Halloween had been fairly quiet for some, though Dorothy’s dog and cat had very different reactions to fireworks. Pete admitted to hiding behind darkened lights to avoid trick-or-treaters.
Towards the close, Dorothy kindly agreed to chair next week’s Monday Night Net, as Pete may have another commitment. There was also a quick plug for the now-regular AI-generated net reports, which Pete is continuing to experiment with.
The net closed with thanks to all who called in and a reminder to support the Essex Repeater Group for the use of GB3DA. 73 all round.
